Trespassing charges dropped against two activists

HAWTHORNE – Charges that two activists trespassed by refusing to leave a Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office anteroom have been dismissed, a court official said Friday.

The two men, Richard Rivera and Miguel Reyes, were charged with defiant trespass after they were asked to leave a Prosecutor’s Office waiting room in Hackensack on Jan. 20, 2012. Those charges were dropped Thursday in an agreement reached by both sides, Hawthorne municipal court administrator Christine Oravetz said.

Since the case involved the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, it was handled outside the county, in Hawthorne, said Reyes’ attorney, Christopher Errante.

“I am pleased. It was long overdue,” said Reyes, who called the charges an “abuse of power” by Prosecutor John Molinelli.

Rivera said he was happy to move past the incident and noted that he and the prosecutor had recently begun discussing issues concerning police accountability.

“I’m just glad that we’re moving forward,” Rivera said.

Rivera and Reyes were arrested about a month after the fatal police shooting of Garfield resident Malik Williams, which both Rivera and Reyes had spoken out against. Williams was killed by police after turning himself in on an assault charge, then fleeing from police custody. Officers found him hiding in a nearby residential garage, where he was shot after allegedly moving toward them while holding a claw hammer and hand saw.

Rivera, who is chairman of the Latino Leadership Alliance of New Jersey’s Civil Rights Protection Project, has said that he wanted to talk to Molinelli about prosecutor supervision, monitoring and accountability of local police agencies, as well as police use of force.

Rivera claimed that he had a meeting scheduled with Molinelli that day but was later told it would not take place. Molinelli has said that he told Rivera it would be inappropriate for the two to meet while the investigation into Williams’ shooting was still being conducted.

On the day of the arrest, Rivera arrived at the Prosecutor’s Office with Reyes, now president of the activist group United Residents of Garfield Engaging Neighborhood Transformation (U.R.G.E.N.T.); the Williams’ family’s attorney, Victor Urbaez; and Garfield resident Reggie Buggs, who was also involved in the protest movement that arose after Williams’ death and is now vice president of U.R.G.E.N.T.

Rivera attempted to meet with Molinelli and refused to leave until he was granted an audience with the prosecutor. After being asked to leave by members of the Bergen County Sheriff’s Department, Rivera and Reyes were escorted out of the waiting room and handcuffed. Urbaez and Buggs were not in the room at the time.

Molinelli issued a brief statement Friday regarding the dismissal of the charges: “Mr. Rivera and I have engaged in some worthwhile discussions concerning law enforcement and the case would only be a distraction from more important issues.”

Since the police shooting of another Bergen County man, Rickey McFadden, in November, Rivera says he and Molinelli have started discussing issues such as police monitoring and Molinelli’s policies on police use of force. They have also discussed the use of Tasers by police, which Rivera contends would put another option in the hands of officers who might otherwise resort to deadly force.

“He [Molinelli] seems receptive to exploring all options available under (state) attorney general’s guidelines,” said Rivera.